From the perspective of music buffs today - expectations are very low, more so because Ravindra Jain is a melody-oriented composer, who does not pander to today's trends.

Music:

This fact is crystal-clear from the musical arrangements of the first two tracks, 'Kahin Hai Mera Pyar' (Shaan) and 'Shaamil Ye' (Suresh Wadkar-Ram Shankar), both melodies with the flavour of the '70s and '80s. The lyrics are simple but undistinguished; ditto the singing and the melody. The shorter version of the first, billed as 'Kahin Hai Mera Pyar - Theme' (Shaan) seems to be just an add-on necessity.

The layered feel of the titled song with its soaring cadences that come back seemingly mid-way, makes it one of Shaan's most accomplished film renditions, though you could mistake it for a song from one of the Rajshri movies when Jain ruled in that banner decades ago.

Suresh Wadkar's timeless and finely-honed vocals anoint the old-world charm of the second track, and the sound is wholesome in its acoustic rather synthetic tenor. However, the raag-daari inherent in the song may prove to be a deterrent in its likeability.

The Sukhwinder Singh-Kavita Krishnamurthi Subramaniam duet 'Nach Baliye' takes on a veneer of modern Punjabi folk, but ends up as a very retro song in its grammar and arrangements. Kavita excels, as always in her rare recent outings, but the track will appeal only to those who do not like any film song after the '80s ended!

Sunidhi Chauhan is saddled with 'Dilwale Dilwale', a kind of semi-Oriental dance number in which she is skilled yet clearly uncomfortable. There are clear resemblances to several older R.D. Burman songs and their interludes (Sholay, Caravan, Arjun) throughout. Which were not really needed, we feel.

Nikhil Kamath comes in for the 1 minute-long (!) 'theme song', 'Searching For His Love' (sung by Siddharth Hazarika) and in two versions of a contemporary Sufi-hued number 'Hai Junoon' and 'Hui Junoon -1' sung respectively by Altamash Faridi and Tori Dattaroy. Written by Vimal Kashyap, it has words that are an aggregate of past Sufi songs with absolutely nothing original by way of either thought or phraseology.

Finally, two theme commentaries, 'Adam & Eve' in Hindi and English (with the writers not billed) are recited by Om Puri and Nikhil Kamath. Not being songs, they get too heavy, and at more than five minutes duration, monotonous and boring. The English version (with Hindi interpolations!) also sounds fake, and is ungrammatical in parts and unintentionally funny at places ('The reason of the world's formation is knowledge of love / And we are the offspring of that love') and good diction is also wanting.

Overall:

April seems to be a music-rich month in quantity, with many film albums having 10 or more tracks inclusive of all versions! But quality-wise, the songs here are far from lovable.

Subhash Ghai and his sense of music are legendary. Karz, Hero, Karma, Ram Lakhan, Saudagar, Khal-Nayak, Pardes, Taal, Yaadein, Kisna - the music of all these films burst charts or at least won hearts even if the later films did not work. His last two directorials, Black-And-White and Yuvvraaj, also had their musical moments.

Expectations thus are set at a high.

Music:

It takes a subsequent track ('Kambal Ke Neeche') to realize what we suspected in the title-song 'Kaanchi Re Kaanchi' (Sukhwinder Singh) - that Subhash Ghai's use of musical riffs and passages from many old cult songs is intentional. Since Ghai's sense of music is entirely visual, we will make final sense of this only when watching the movie.

Take the smartly-penned (Irshad Kamil) 'Kambal Ke Neeche / Ishq Bageeche Aaja Seenche', which seems to be a celebration of a couple's wedding night without being in-your-face. Sung by Aman Trikha with Neeti Mohan, Aishwarya Majmudar and Sanchita Bhattacharya, it also has tributes in the lyrics to a bevy of old hits from Ghai films like 'Do Dil Mil Rahe Hain' and 'Yeh Dil Deewana'(Pardes), 'Nayak Nahin Khalnayak Hoon Main' (Khal-Nayak), 'Ramta Jogi' (Taal), 'Jab Dil Mile' (Yaadein) and 'Aashayein Aashayein' (Iqbal).

Separating the men from the boys in this brilliantly conceived song, Irshad even makes sense of the above words in the context here ('Aashayein Aashayein / Kambal Ke Neeche'), leaving us to appreciate the subtle erotica ('Bhaiya Deewaane Hue / Kambal Ke Neeche / Bhabhi Sayaani Hui / Kambal Ke Neeche') in an era where brazenness is endemic.

The fours singers have a good time here and Neeti Mohan stands out among them. This Ismail Darbar composition maintains a rhythmic two-line pattern that is seldom broken. The few lines in English towards the end, we hope, will be situational too.

Sukhwinder Singh has a vocal blast in the title-track, 'Kaanchi Re Kaanchi' imparting the breezy and straight, typical Ghai's-film composition with complex but delicious curves and nuances. The trumpet and the guitar twangs are a delight, and the punchy chorus is cute. The lyrics are simple and the atmopsheric feel is infectious.

We move to 'Tu sab kuch re', the most layered, finely-honed composition on the soundtrack, with its lows and crescendos set to a relentless beat, so typical of both Ghai's tastes and composer Ismail Darbar's skills even individually.

Anweshaa is supple, giving Sonu Nigam aptly 'passionate' company in this almost Sufi-ana love song. Irshad Kamil's poetic lyrics do not tread new territory, but the melody gives them a fresh dimension. Anweshaa reminds vintage Ghai music buffs of an amalgam of Alka Yagnik and Kavita Krishnamurthy Subramaniam in the earlier musicals of the banner.

What we also liked best about this most accomplished track on the soundtrack is the seamless flow from antara to mukhda and from the higher octaves to the lower notes. The use of chorus whisks us back to the era when melody sat regal on an unshakeable throne. Once again, the way the chorus is interpolated and the return to the main track with the use of backing vocals by Ismail himself is done with a rare sensitivity unheard of in today's musically cluttered times.

Ankit Aashiqui 2 Tiwari is given a vocal challenge in the litany 'Kaisa Hai Dard Mera', and we wonder why, like many singers today, he gets into the Arijit Singh vocal mode. Ismail's haunting musical style comes to the fore in the retro feel of the track, which is a welcome break from the overdone Sufi-ana pathos of today.

The orchestration is likeable, but we wonder why a male singer was needed to express female sentiments! So the question arises: is a high-pitched male voice, backed by a rock guitar, really needed to express the sentiments of a simple girl from an unspoiled village that Kaanchi is said to be? This song would be truly noteworthy in a different milieu if used for a male protagonist!

'Koshampa' (Aman Trikha-Sanchita Bhattacharya-Anweshaa with some introductory words by Subhash Ghai) extols the village of that name, said to be Kaanchi's hometown, in its lyrics. The song is set to some heady beats with patriotic riffs from 'Saare Jahaan Se Accha' added. The orchestration gets a shade too noisy on occasion and the song ends up as an average number.

Ismail Darbar's final track, 'Adiye Adiye' (Sanchita Bhattacharya-Avril Quadros) emerges as contemporary as they come in its packaging, but with a strong and naughty folk inflection blended with some heavy percussion and fast-paced beats. The quaint and obviously completely situational song is sung in a gimmicky way and sounds cute, though it caters to niche tastes and lacks an enduring quality.

Subhash Ghai turns music maker with 'Main Mushtanda' (Mika-Aishwarya Majumdar-Earl Edgar), a modern rap number for which he himself pens the lyrics (after his attempt in Jogger's Park). Irreverent and dark, it is saucily drawled out by Mika, with Aishwarya belting out the contrasting lines to Mika's aggressive words. The arrangements are interesting for this genre of songs, after the extremely predictable way with which the track begins.

Salim-Sulaiman's 'Thumka' could belong to any urban film of our times. The tune is overtly familiar and might be composed by any music maker today, cloaked in all the 'current coin' synthetic razzmatazz. The song remains with you only till it is on, thanks to Sonu Nigam's vocals, while Suzanne D'Mello's vocals are largely incomprehensible and unclear.

The duo's 'Jai He' (Sukhwinder Singh-Mohit Chauhan-Raj Pandit) is impressively orchestrated. Irshad Kamil presents a trenchant poser ('Itna bada jahaan hai / Chalo dhoondh laaye ussko / Saare jahaan se accha / woh Hindustan kahaan hai?') and goes on to pen rabble-rousing words about our leaders singing the national anthem without understanding the true meaning of the words. But its noisy rock-like treatment could have been dispensed with for a weightier acoustic treatment that would have actually enhanced the impact.

Overall:

This is a score that has its highs but lacks uniformity in caliber. It will work only after the film makes a mark, hence the rating.

The sequel to Bhoothnath in 2008 aims at being more market friendly and socially-relevant - after all, BR Films has come in too as co-producers with T-Series. Multiple music makers come in, as per trends.

Music:

Meet Bros. Anjjan come up with one of their better tracks, 'Party To Banti Hai' with Mika leading the composers' voices. In sync with the mood of the film, the composers seem to take more than a leaf out of Himesh Reshammiya grammar in the chorus 'Po po po' and the easy flow of rhythmic (!) melody. Mika now is beyond critical evaluation - he neither gets better nor worse, and is in that sense, the most consistent singer in the business, with a distinct voice and tone that make up a natural USP!

However, after this euphoria, comes a weightier song 'Party With The Bhoothnath' composed, written and sung by - surprise! surprise! - Yo Yo Honey Singh! We finally cotton onto the man's secret of success - his creation of the right atmosphere. The orchestration evokes the spooky backdrop with the smart use of a dominant bell and the relentless usage of some eerily ambient orchestration.

The rap lyrics are apt and have their own element of satire. The rest is trademark Yo Yo: catchy beats, repeated phrases and (unfortunately) the singer's perennially flawed pronunciation that he should take seriously and improve. But on the whole, the track works - big-time.

Aman Trikha shines in Kunwar Juneja's satire-rich ('Honesty ka paath padhaaye / Lucche aur lafange') song 'Har Har Gange'. He is spirited and spotless, with all the right inflections. Ram Sampath adds the nuances neatly and the song is a nice ensemble of melody and fashionable Punjabi beats.

The sole intense melody in the soundtrack, 'Sahib' is sung well by Rituraj, even if his voice and singing style seem inspired a lot by Kailash Kher's. Munna Dhiman's lyrics are simple, predictable but heartfelt, and it is good to know that he is capable of going beyond the esoteric, imagery-rich groove of his work in the past. Ram Sampath does a soft and soothing job of both the composition and orchestration.

Before we come to the final track, let us examine the two ubiquitous remix tracks - 'Party To Banti Hai - Remix' and 'Har Har Gange - Remix'. Those who will do it, will do it, we guess, but we fail to see the need to enhance the pace and beats of perfectly good songs and making them sound noisy with some gimmicky additions. Do these really make a difference on the dance floor or gym machines as the assumption goes?

Two of these songs have caught on and will boost the prospects of the film to a decent extent. The other slower songs may or may not pick up later, but are worthy tracks at that.

And yes, the BR Films musical track-record is not sullied either. They were among the pioneers of truly meaningful lyrics with a social angle from Sadhana to the '80s and this time too, the lyrics stand out.

Our Pick:

'Party To Banti Hai', 'Har Har Gange', 'Party With The Bhoothnath']]>BollywoodHungama.com Music Reviewshttp://www.bollywoodhungama.com/rss/music_reviews.xml0Mukeshhttp://www.bollywoodlyrics.com/?post_type=video&p=1359812014-03-18T14:07:22Z2014-03-18T14:07:22Z0Mukeshhttp://www.bollywoodlyrics.com/forums/forum/hindi-songs-and-translations-requests2014-03-10T04:12:19Z2014-03-09T23:13:46Z0Mukeshhttp://www.bollywoodlyrics.com/forums/forum/announcements2014-03-10T04:12:36Z2014-03-09T23:13:46Z0Mukeshhttp://www.bollywoodlyrics.com/forums/forum/say-something2014-03-10T04:12:52Z2014-03-09T23:13:46Z0Mukeshhttp://www.bollywoodlyrics.com/forums/forum/online-antakshri2014-03-10T04:13:52Z2014-03-09T23:13:46Z0Mukeshhttp://www.bollywoodlyrics.com/forums/forum/online-bollywood-games2014-03-10T04:14:14Z2014-03-09T23:13:46Z0Mukeshhttp://www.bollywoodlyrics.com/forums/forum/bollywood-music-reviews-and-discussion2014-03-10T04:14:28Z2014-03-09T23:13:46Z0Mukeshhttp://www.bollywoodlyrics.com/forums/forum/bollywood-actors2014-03-10T04:14:42Z2014-03-09T23:13:46Z0Mukeshhttp://www.bollywoodlyrics.com/forums/forum/bollywood-gossip2014-03-10T04:14:54Z2014-03-09T23:13:46Z0Mukeshhttp://www.bollywoodlyrics.com/forums/forum/tamil-lyrics-and-translations-request2014-03-10T04:15:07Z2014-03-09T23:13:46Z0Mukeshhttp://www.bollywoodlyrics.com/forums/forum/telegu-songs-and-translations2014-03-10T04:15:20Z2014-03-09T23:13:46Z0Mukeshhttp://www.bollywoodlyrics.com/forums/forum/malayalam-songs-and-translations2014-03-10T04:15:33Z2014-03-09T23:13:46Z0Mukeshhttp://www.bollywoodlyrics.com/forums/forum/mohd-rafi-tribute2014-03-10T04:15:45Z2014-03-09T23:13:46Z0Mukeshhttp://www.bollywoodlyrics.com/forums/forum/punjabi-lyrics-and-translations-request2014-03-10T04:15:58Z2014-03-09T23:13:46Z0Mukeshhttp://www.bollywoodlyrics.com/forums/forum/bwl-questions-and-help-section2014-03-10T04:16:10Z2014-03-09T23:13:46Z0Mukeshhttp://www.bollywoodlyrics.com/forums/forum/bengali-songs-and-translations2014-03-10T04:16:23Z2014-03-09T23:13:46Z0Mukeshhttp://www.bollywoodlyrics.com/forums/forum/marathi-songs-and-english-translations2014-03-10T04:16:37Z2014-03-09T23:13:46Z0